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Born Free USA Launches Crowdfunding Campaign for Dawkins, the San Antonio Airport "Escapee"

Born Free USA Launches Crowdfunding Campaign for Dawkins, the San Antonio Airport "Escapee"

Leading nonprofit animal rights organization raising money for new Texas Primate Sanctuary enclosure to house Dawkins and two other rescued rhesus macaques

PR Newswire

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2018

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Born Free USA, a global leader in animal welfare and wildlife conservation, has kicked off a new crowdfunding campaign to support Dawkins, the rhesus macaque whose adventures at the San Antonio airport in May turned him into an international celebrity.

Dawkins captivated a worldwide audience when he briefly escaped from his crate on the way to Born Free USA's Primate Sanctuary in south Texas and was loose for a short period of time in the cargo area at San Antonio International Airport. The Chuffed crowdfunding campaign's goal is $10,125, which will fund the construction of a warm house – a structure that helps the monkeys stay warm during winter – in the new enclosure complex that Dawkins will share with Creed and Oscar, two other rhesus macaques at the Sanctuary. Dawkins, Creed, and Oscar were retired to the Primate Sanctuary after years of being used in research.

"As Creed, Oscar and Dawkins settle into Sanctuary life and continue to adjust to their new home, they will need a larger, permanent enclosure, which will allow them to live alongside the Sanctuary's other rhesus macaques," said Prashant Khetan, Born Free USA CEO and general counsel. "We believe that there are enough people out there who believe in what we do and are compassionate and care enough to donate. In return, we're offering a variety of perks to those who donate as our way of saying thank you."

The crowdfunding campaign has currently raised $2,766.

Large open living spaces at the Sanctuary allow its residents to live a life as close as possible to what they would experience in the wild, with opportunities to explore nature, play, forage, and socialize with other members of their species.

Born Free USA's Primate Sanctuary is a nearly 200-acre facility where approximately 500 primates rescued from zoos, research facilities, and private ownership are able to retire to a life as close to the wild as possible.

Born Free USA, a national 501(c)(3), believes that every individual animal matters. Inspired by the Academy Award®-winning film Born Free, the organization works locally, nationally, and internationally on the conservation frontlines, in communities, classrooms, courtrooms, and the halls of Congress, to end wild animal cruelty and suffering and protect threatened wildlife.

Launched in 2002, Born Free USA was inspired by Virginia McKenna and her (late) husband Bill Travers, who, along with their son, Will, founded The Born Free Foundation (UK) in 1984. Their experience in Kenya filming the classic 1966 Academy Award®-winning film Born Free, the story of Joy and George Adamson's fight to successfully return Elsa the lioness to a wild and free life, launched the couple's "compassionate conservation" movement, aimed at keeping wildlife in the wild. This movement continues to motivate millions of followers and activists across the globe. In 2007, Born Free USA merged with the Animal Protection Institute.

Located in south Texas, Born Free USA's Primate Sanctuary is the largest such facility in the U.S. and provides a permanent home for roughly 500 primates retired from research facilities or rescued from inhumane conditions at zoos and private ownership. These primates have often endured a lifetime of abuse, neglect, and cruelty, and many come to the Sanctuary with special physical and emotional needs, requiring extensive care and services. Current species in residence include: bonnet macaque, long-tailed macaque, pig-tailed macaque, rhesus macaque, stump-tailed macaque, Japanese macaque, olive baboon, and hamadryas baboon.